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Pope: we are all invited to be members of the People of God

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday addressed the crowds of pilgrims gathered
in St. Peter's Square for the weekly General Audience.

Please find below
Vatican Radio's full translation of his address.

Dear brothers and sisters,
good morning!

Today I would like to touch briefly on another of the terms with
which the Second Vatican Council defined the Church, that of “People of God" (cf.
Dogmatic Constitution. Lumen Gentium, 9; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 782).
I shall do so with a few questions upon which we can all reflect.

1. What
does it mean to be "People of God"? First of all, it means that God does not really
belong to any people; for it is He who calls us, who summons us, who invites us to
be part of his people, and this invitation is open to all, without distinction, because
God’s mercy “desires all people to be saved "(1 Tim 2:4). Jesus does not tell the
Apostles and us to form an exclusive group, an elite group. Jesus says: Go and make
disciples of all nations (cf. Mt 28:19). St Paul says that within the people of God,
in the Church, "there is neither Jew nor Gentile ... for you are all one in Christ
Jesus" (Gal 3:28). I would like to say to those who feel far from God and the Church,
to those who are fearful or indifferent, to those who think they can no longer change:
the Lord is calling you too to be part of his people and he does it with great respect
and love! He invites us to be a part of this people, the people of God

2. How
do you become a member of this people? It is not through physical birth, but through
a new birth. In the Gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus that one must be born from above,
of water and of spirit to enter the Kingdom of God (cf. John 3:3-5). It is through
Baptism that we are introduced to this people, through faith in Christ, the gift of
God which must be nurtured and tended to throughout our whole life. Let us ask ourselves:
how can I grow in the faith that I received in my Baptism? How do tend to this faith
that I have received and that the people of God has? How do I make it grow? And another
question.

3. What is the law of the People of God? It is the law of love, love
for God and love for our neighbor according to the new commandment that the Lord left
us (cf. Jn 13:34). It is a love, however, that is not sterile sentimentality or something
vague, it is recognizing God as the only Lord of life and, at the same time, accepting
the other as a true brother, overcoming divisions, rivalry, misunderstandings, selfishness;
the two things go together. We have still so far to go to be able to live concretely
according to this new law, the law of the Holy Spirit working within us, the law of
charity, of love! When we see in the many wars between Christians in the newspapers
or on TV, how can the people of God understand this? Within the people of God there
are so many wars! And in neighborhoods, in workplaces, so many wars due to envy, jealousy.
Even within the same family, there are so many internal wars. We must ask the Lord
to help us understand this law of love. How good, how nice it is to love each other
as true brothers. How nice that is! Let's do something today: perhaps we all have
our likes and dislikes, and perhaps many of us are angry with others. But at least
let’s say to the Lord: "Lord, I am angry with him or with her. I pray for him and
for her. I pray to you". To pray for those with whom we are angry. It's a big step
in this law of love. Let's do it today!

4. What mission does this people have?
To bring to the world the hope and the salvation of God: to be a sign of the love
of God who calls all to be friends of His; to be the yeast that ferments the dough,
the salt that gives flavour and preserves from decay, the light that brightens. Just
as I said, it is enough to open a newspaper, and we see that around us there is the
presence of evil, the Devil is at work. But I would like to say in a loud voice: God
is stronger! Do you believe this? That God is stronger? Let’s say it in a loud voice:
God is stronger! Do you believe this? That God is stronger? Let’s say it all together.
God is stronger! All of us! And you know why He is stronger? Because He is the Lord,
the only Lord. God is stronger! Good! And I would like to add that reality which is
sometimes dark and marked by evil can change, if we are the first to bring the light
of the Gospel especially with our lives. If in a stadium, let’s think of the Olympic
Stadium in Rome, or that of San Lorenzo in Buenos Aires, if on a dark night one person
lights up a lamp, you can barely see it, but if each of over seventy thousand spectators
switches on his own light, the whole Stadium lights up. Let's make our lives a light
of Christ; and together we will bring the light of the Gospel to the whole world.

5.
What is the goal of this people? Its end is the kingdom of God, which has been begun
by God Himself on earth, and which is to be further extended until it is brought to
perfection by Him at the end of time, when Christ, our life, shall appear (cf. Lumen
Gentium, 9). The goal then is full communion with the Lord; it’s to enter into his
divine life where we will live the joy of his love without measure. That full joy.

Dear
brothers and sisters, to be Church, is to be God's people, according to the Father’s
great plan of love, it means to be the yeast of God in this humanity of ours, it means
to proclaim and to bring God's salvation into this world, which is often lost, in
need of encouraging answers, answers that give hope, that give new vigour in the journey.
May the Church be a place of mercy and of hope in God, where everyone can feel welcomed,
loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel. And to feel welcomed,
loved, forgiven, encouraged, the Church’s doors must be open, so that all may come
and that we can go out of those doors and proclaim the Gospel. Thank you so much.